Canceled Liberty State Park Race Lacked Authorization

The organizer of the Liberty Lightning 5K, which was to be the surviving event of the Liberty Run Marathon in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, lacked the necessary paperwork to hold the race in the park and was barred from doing so, according to a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which has jurisdiction over the park.

Race organizer Dave English failed to submit the race’s insurance certificate by the close of business on Friday, May 24, Department press officer Larry Hajna told Runner’s World Newswire. When asked if that meant that English was not authorized to conduct a race in the park on Saturday, May 25, Hajna said, “That is correct.”

In emails to Newswire over the Memorial Day Weekend, English said the race was canceled because of the weather.

“We (sponsors, vendors, runners, and volunteers) sat in rain until 9 a.m.,” English wrote. “We backed up start time to see if weather would break and to assure anyone who wanted to run and had to have time to get there could. We had 30 very motivated runners show up, but most didn't wait the storm out, and with [Liberty State Park] being swamped with water and no sign of the rain stopping, at 9 a.m. we went with backing the date up based on dates [Liberty State Park] will have available in the immediate future.”

English did not respond to a message from Newswire asking him to reconcile the above reason for cancellation with Hajna’s statement.

As Newswire reported on May 19, the Liberty Run Marathon was to be a first-time event, with a marathon, half-marathon and 5-K, starting and finishing in Jersey City, New Jersey on May 25. Less than two weeks before race day, English canceled the marathon and half-marathon, citing construction along the route. Jersey City officials said the race didn’t have a permit to run on the city’s streets. The event was billed as a fundraiser for veterans groups (English is a former Marine) and New Jersey charities.

After the half-marathon and marathon were canceled, English said the event’s remaining race, the Liberty Lightning 5K, would be run, but would be held within Liberty State Park.

Runners who went to the park on Saturday received conflicting versions of why the race was canceled.

Darren Hansen, who was originally entered in the half-marathon, said that he got to the park at 7:30 and “was told by a park ranger that the organizers failed to file the necessary paperwork and that there was no race.” Ben Fleck, a local runner not entered in the race who went to the park to see if the race would be held, was also told by park officials the race was canceled because of incomplete paperwork.

Newsy Alejo said that she arrived at the park at 8 and “saw a handful of cars pulled over outside of the parking lot. No signs for the event, no one there representing the organization that planned it. I pulled up to a parked police car and asked him where I was supposed to go for the 5-K and he informed me that the race was canceled. He told me that there will not be any races that day because the organization did not file the paperwork needed.”

Alejo said that as she was preparing to leave the park, English approached her car and gave her his email address, to which she was to send her preference for a make-up date for the race.

“I asked him why the event was canceled and he told me that he was just informed by park officials that he couldn't have the race because of the weather,” Alejo said.

Hansen and other entrants told Newswire they have followed procedures for entry-fee refunds outlined by English, but have neither received their refunds nor been given a timeline for receiving them. These claims are consistent with reports on the race’s Facebook page. The race’s entry fees were $120 for the marathon, $95 for the half-marathon and $60 for the 5-K.

In a phone call on Tuesday, May 28, English told Ilya Ustilovsky, a Jersey City resident active in the local running community who English consulted when planning the race, that refunds would be paid by the end of June.

Ustilovsky, who was not entered in the event, has said he is considering legal action against English, although he’s unsure what form that action might take.

English told Newswire, “I will not get into a finger-pointing session because there are so many good runners that want us to keep this going and support the 2014 run.”

Scott DouglasScott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times.

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